Temporary Aide (Dining Services) - Veterans Community Living Center Fitzsimons - Aurora, CO.

This position is open to current Colorado residents only. Recruitment may be used to fill multiple vacancies.

About the role

The Dining Services work unit provides full dining services for 180 nursing home residents, catering, and staff meals. Responsibilities include preparing three balanced, nutritious meals daily, meeting all dietary needs as per physician orders, ensuring meals are served timely at the correct temperature, and accurately maintaining diet cards, all within state and federal regulations. The unit also maintains a sanitary and safe work environment.

Responsibilities

• Maintain kitchen sanitation by following daily and weekly cleaning checklists
• Clean kitchen, equipment, and floors at the end of each shift
• Clean and sanitize all kitchen food service equipment
• Collect and dispose of trash
• Follow standardized recipes
• Prepare meals to appropriate temperatures and textures (pureed, mechanical, regular, hot, and cold items)
• Prepare all aspects of meals to food safety standards, visual appeal, and palatability for residents
• Prepare enough menu items for residents, including therapeutic diets in the appropriate texture and temperature
• Monitor and record all food temperatures before items leave the main kitchen
• Ensure every item is at the appropriate temperature to be served
• Other duties as assigned

Requirements

• Two (2) years of relevant experience in an occupation related to the work assigned to this position
• State of Colorado residency at the time of application and throughout employment
• Willingness to test for Tuberculosis (TB)
• Ability to work shifts, including days, evenings, weekends, or holidays
• Full background check, including:
  • CBI & FBI fingerprint check
  • Colorado Court Database check
  • Medicare Fraud Database check
  • TRAILS Database check
  • CAPS check (for direct care to vulnerable adults)
• Direct contact with vulnerable persons (as defined by C.R.S.27-90-111)
• Use, handling, or exposure to hazardous materials (oven cleaner, sanitizer, and bleach)

Qualifications

• Experience in food service
• Certification of ServSafe Class
• Experience working in a hospital or living center
• Knowledge of health operational requirements, hazards, and precautionary measures in a food service unit
• Knowledge of institutional food service procedures and practices
• Knowledge of weights, measures, and food measurement techniques
• Knowledge of techniques used in mixing food (e.g., gelatin, pancake batter, salad dressing, scrambled eggs)
• Knowledge of meat and vegetable preparation methods (clean, cut, cube, grind, peel, dice, grate, slice, chop, and tenderize)
• Knowledge of cooking methods (e.g., frying, deep-fat frying, boiling, or baking)
• Knowledge of the use of kitchen utensils in serving or portioning meals
• Knowledge of food safety related to handling and storing cooked foods, serving and storing temperatures, and reading food thermometers
• Ability to read English at the level necessary for interpreting and scaling written recipes, menus, nutrition labels, diet slips, portioning sheets, and policies and procedures
• Ability to understand and execute oral and written instructions
• Ability to use and operate a gas, rotary, or convection oven safely and effectively
• Strong interpersonal and teamwork skills

Benefits

• Strong, secure, yet flexible retirement benefits including a PERA Defined Benefit Plan or PERA Defined Contribution Plan plus 401(k) and 457 plans
• Medical and dental health plans
• Employer-supplemented Health Savings Account
• Paid life insurance
• Short- and long-term disability coverage
• 11 paid holidays per year plus vacation and sick leave
• Employee Wellness program
• Excellent work-life programs, such as flexible schedules, training, and more
• Remote work arrangements for eligible positions
• Some positions may qualify for the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program